There is a wide variety of construction systems, particularly in the area of toys which are available on the market and described in issued United States and foreign patent applications. Such construction systems commonly have elements with male interlock means and female interlock means for connecting the elements together. Although a group of such construction elements can generally be interconnected in a variety of ways, such systems generally have a number of limitations including:
(i) an interlock means of one type cannot interlock with another interlock means of the same type; PA1 (ii) only one type of male/female interconnection is possible; PA1 (iii) a male/female connection has only one angular orientation, or a limited range of angular orientations; PA1 (iv) some surfaces of a construction element cannot be used in forming an interconnection; PA1 (v) only one size scale of elements is available for interconnection; PA1 (vi) the elements are not made from an elastomeric material and therefore are not flexible; PA1 (vii) a reconfiguration of interconnected elements is not augmented by sound effects, such as clicking or ratcheting sounds; PA1 (viii) the elements have no resemblances to biological forms, and are therefore unable to model biological as well as other organic and inorganic systems, structures or interactions; PA1 (ix) if the toy includes ball-and-socket connections, the ball-and-socket connections do not lock in certain orientations; PA1 (x) the elements do not include means for small, precise and reproducible reorientations; PA1 (xi) a small number of elements cannot be interconnected to form a closed loop; PA1 (xii) the elements are not formed so that interconnections can be broken using leverage; and PA1 (xiii) the elements are not formed so that interconnections can be easily made. PA1 (xiv) if two parts are in a ball-jaw connections, the ball cannot be moved within jaw from one locking position to another merely by applying mutual force. PA1 (xv) lack of dynamic movement which mimics ergonomic movement and platonic and archimedean geometries. PA1 (xvi) lack of resemblance to biomechanical movement, growth and forms. PA1 (xvii) no other lips on the perimeter of a jaw or socket to accommodate a ball and shaft, as well as to provide a basin of attraction, to permit a part to stand on end, and to provide additional surface area for a interlock means by which one type of interlock means interlocks with the means of the same type. PA1 (xviii) no other ball-jaw connection employs both friction and "locking" mechanism simultaneously to control the positioning of interconnected elements. PA1 (xix) the same number of parts that can create a closed system and can touch any point within an imaginary sphere. PA1 (xx) as a system, other toys do not permit complex form and movement in a small place. PA1 (xxi) as a system, no other toys allow for modeling of complex growth and branching. PA1 (xxii) only two elements cannot be connected in over ten different ways. PA1 (xxiii) do not contain unique connections that also act as transition connections to other unique connections. PA1 (xxiv) do not have an open design system. PA1 (xxv) do not have three parts that make a triangle. PA1 (xxvi) do not have a triangle that is both stable, yet rotating.
Consequently a need exists for a construction system which overcomes the limitations of prior systems, is easy to assemble and is inexpensive to manufacture.